1989 batch senior IAS officer Bhagwati Prasad Gopalika has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of West Bengal. He was serving as the Home Secretary in the state.
He replaced IAS officer HK Dwivedi whose tenure ended after his retirement. Mr Gopalika assumed his charge on December 31.
He will remain in this post for only five months if he does not get extension, as he is going to retire on May 31 this year.
The Mamata Banerjee led state government issued the order after a Cabinet meeting.
Mr. Gopalika has served in several significant capacities, including stints in the transport, animal resources development, and personnel and administrative reforms departments, holding position as secretary.
Born on 1 June, 1964, he hails from Andhra Pradesh. He completed his basic education till 12th from Hyderabad. Then, he obtained degree in B.Tech in electrical engineering from IIT Madras in 1988. He also received President of India Gold Medal for being the best outgoing student of his batch.
In 1989, he joined civil services. He also received training at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) in Kolkata and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in New Delhi. He also visited the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States as part of his training.
He started his career as an assistant collector in Burdwan district in 1991. He then served as the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Alipurduar and Kharagpur. He was also the additional district magistrate (ADM) of Malda and Howrah.
He was promoted to the rank of district magistrate (DM) in 1999 and posted in Purulia district. He then became the DM of Hooghly and South 24 Parganas districts.
Meanwhile, IAS officer Nandini Chakraborty was appointed as the Home Secretary of the West Bengal government. Ms. Chakraborty is the second woman officer to hold the state’s Home Secretary position after Lina Chakraborty. She previously served as the Principal Secretary to the Bengal Governor.
